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American Morning

FBI Investigating Montana Militia Group Suspected of Plotting Homegrown Revolution

Aired March 04, 2002 - 08:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The FBI this morning is investigating a Montana militia group suspected of plotting a homegrown revolution. We told you last week about the group that called itself Project Seven. They stockpiled trailers with guns, ammunition, and explosives, and they have lists indicating they may have been preparing to assassinate dozens of local and state government officials. Authorities were tipped off by one of Project Seven's defectors. The group's failure, though, does raise some concern about the potential threat now from other right-wing militia groups.

Joining us from Las Vegas this morning, former Green Beret commander Bo Gritz.

Welcome back. Good to see you.

BO GRITZ, FMR. GREEN BERET COMMANDER: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: What have we learned about David Bergert and Tracy Brockway in the last couple of days, the two actively involved in Project Seven's mission?

GRITZ: Brugert and his squeeze is -- they are very small small people in a very large pond. They are braggarts, and a lot of people said that Brugert does this just as a way of taking coup upon the government. I know who your children are. I know where you eat. I know you're address. You can't hide from me. That he wasn't really violent-minded, but with the things that have happened in the past, Paula, with Tim McVeigh, for example, Eric Rudolph, you just can't discount anyone, and anyone that is going to yell fire in a theater should be held responsible.

So I think Bergert is where he ought to be, but there are a lot more people in this pond, bigger fish, that should be fried, and so it's those I'd like to focus on, if we can.

ZAHN: Yes, now when you talk about these bigger fish, who are they, and what are they capable of pulling off?

GRITZ: Well, the thing that makes them different than Bergert, is Bergert seems to have no religious motivations behind what he was doing. He's just a miscreant and a small evildoer, who this is better maybe than getting a job and a life, and there are only a few people who actually listen to him, and obviously, one of them defected, so there is a brain out there, but the people that we have to be careful of are those that think they can blame it on heaven and go ahead and do anything they want.

And there are some, what I would call, ministers of hate, that are there. For example, you have the old Richard Butler of the Aryan Nations up in Idaho. He's very long in the tooth right now. But you've got a man, Dan Gamen, that every one of the vicious groups, talking about The Covenant Sword, and Arm of the Lord. We're talking about The Order, The Secret Brotherhood. These people have praised Gamen as giving them a religious focus to what otherwise was just organized crime. And these are the people you need to watch out for. You have a man out there by the name of William Pierce, he wrote "The Turner Diaries." It's fiction...

ZAHN: And that is what inspired Timothy McVeigh, in part, right?

GRITZ: Yes, inspired Timothy McVeigh and many others. and I imagine that Bergert. They all claim to be constitutionalists, Paula, but what they end up doing is acting like anarchists, and if I could. there is a lot of Americans that are confused about this, title 10, United States code, authorizes an unorganized militia. America needs an unorganized militia, when you've got hurricanes, and riots, and things that the police and National Guard might not be able to handle on their own.

So as a matter of fact, the government will send you a gun through the mail when you qualify. There's a toll-free number. And as a matter of fact, I'll give it out if it's all right. It's called the Civilian Marksmanship Program. It's 888-267-0796. The secretary of the army has responsibility for training civilians, like yourself, and most people who aren't in the military, or haven't retired, are eligible to be called, and when they are called by the governors and the government, they're to present themselves with arms of use at the time. That means surplus military rifles.

ZAHN: All right, but essentially what you're saying, though, is these groups have completely distorted what Title 10 is supposed to represent.

GRITZ: They think they're job is against the government instead of supporting the government. The good news is, is that we in America are kind of like a domestic disturbance. We fuss and fight, but when we get an outside interference, like Osama bin Laden and his terrorism with Al Qaeda, then we ban together. So God be praised, it looks like almost everybody is being tolerant right now of the extra issues, that are necessary to stay alive during this war on terrorism.

The final thing if I could, as a man who has been involved in this stuff a lot, watch out for the level of expectations. Like Pogo said, "We've met the enemy, he is us." We want to have Osama bin Laden on a platter by dawn, and if it doesn't happen, then we get discouraged and we want to pull out. We've got to watch and have a proper level of expectation on this thing.

ZAHN: Well, it's interesting you should note at a time when the Pentagon is now confirming there have been a number of other American fatalities.

Bo Gritz, thank you for your time this morning. We look forward to having you back.

Former green beret commander Bo Gritz.

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